Circular knitting machine



F 19% R. G. LEVINE ETAL 3232,79

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 24, 1962 9 Sheets-Sheet l hh RINVENTORS P/CHAQD G-LEV/A/E' 4/4 as? 7"//- STEM/e544;

ATTORNYS Feb. 1, 1966 R. e. LEVINE ETAL CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE 9Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 24, 1962 I M Ill HM:

Feb. 1, 1966 L R. G. LEVINE ETAL 3,232,079

, CIRCULAR KNITTING' MACHINE med necfz4, 1962 9 Sheets-Sheet s INVENTORSRICA/4P0 6f l'V/A/E ATTORNEY-S Feb 1, 1966 R. G. LEVENE ETAL 3,2320%CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Dec; 24, 1962 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 Feb. 1,1966 R. G. LEVINE ETAL CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 FiledDec. 24, 1962 w mi w m M mzzm A D l R a" 5 M m? Feb. I, 1966 R. e.LEVINE ETAL 3,232,079

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 24, 1962 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 4/INVENTORS P/cw/MD 6,. L EV/A/E 1748527 A- fire/M5524 BY a/ flaw/24 ATTORNE YS Feb. 1, 1966 R. a. LEVINE ETAL CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE 9Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Dec. 24, 1962 T1 LE.

INVENTORS a Q LEV/NE TE/NEEF; 1AM

ATTORNEYS L/za I Feb. 1, 1966 3,232,079

R. G. LEVINE ETAL CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE I J #8 N Filed Dec. 24, 19629 Sheets-Sheet 9 INVENJTORS Fla/42a 6'- L EV/NE 04 35/77 STF/A/EEFG WoRNEZs Patented Feb. ll, lgfiii 3,232,079 CIRCULAR KNITTING MACIIWERichard G. Levine, Woodmen-e, and Gilbert H. Steinberg, Hewlett, N.Y.,assignors to Southern Mill Equipment Qorporation, a corporation of NorthCarolina Filed Dec. 24, 1962, Ser. No. 246,756 11 Claims. (Cl. 66154)The present invention relates to circular knitting machines, and moreparticularly to a circular knitting machine wherein the knittingelements are controlled by remote program responsive means that providea high degree of selectivity in controlling the functioning of thevarious knitting elements and provide a highly simplified and compactknitting machine construction without the complex and cumbersome patterndrums and associated mechanical linkages inherent in conventionalknitting machines.

' In addition to the selectivity, simplification, compactness and remotecontrol features, the elimination of complex linkages, particularly whencombined with independent actuation of elements possible by the presentinvention, provides an important operating speed advantage as comparedwith conventional knitting machines wherein the mechanical linkages andinterconnections have inherent limitations that restrict knittingspeeds. The high knitting speeds obtainable by the present invention maybe even further developed by handling the yarn in a manner to reducestrain, as by measuring prior to drawing as disclosed in I-Iaddad US.Patent No. 3,054,278, issued September 8, 1962, for Knitting Method andMeans and Product Formed Thereby.

By the present invention independent operating components for actuatingthe knitting elements can be compactly and simply arranged for efiicientoperation at the individual locations at which the components are to acton the knitting elements, with the components being separately actuatedby program responsive means in any desired pattern.

The operating components may be electrically controlled by the programresponsive means, further simplifying the machine construction itselfand facilitating remote control of the operating components. Electricaloperation also facilitates the use of a single program responsivecontrol system to control operation of the individual elements of aplurality of knitting machines simultaneously. 1

A further feature of the present invention is the incorporation of meansresponsive to the progression of the knitting elements for advancing theprogram that is read by the program responsive means, thus synchronizingthe control with the knitting element progression so that actuations ofthe knitting elements are positively timed to occur at the desiredpoints in the knitting cycle. In the preferred embodiment this isaccomplished by a response to movement of the needle cylinder, as anelectrical pulse actuated by every revolution or half revolution of thecylinder, which pulse activates a stepwise advance of the program readby the control means.

In knitting some articles, such as ladies hosiery, a large number ofidentical courses are knit in succession, as in the leg or foot ofhosiery, and there is no need for the advancement of the program duringthis period of knitting as the operating components remain in oneposition throughout the knitting of the identical courses. To eliminatethe inefiicient advancement of the program and the repeated uselessactuations of the control means, the present invention includes countingmeans that are actuated from the program to count a predetermined numberof knitting element progressions, such as needle cylinder revolutions,and which deactivate the program advancing means during the countingperiod.

Another significant aspect of the present invention is the provision ofunique means for controlling the depth of draw of the yarn by theknitting elements to control stitch length and tension for variousreasons, including fashioning. This is accomplished by shifting theneedle cylinder axially in response to a program indication. In thepreferred embodiment the cylinder shifting is controlled by a pluralityof sensing components arranged at different cylinder levels with thecomponent at the desired level being selectedby the program and thecylinder shifting means operating to shift the cylinder until it reachesthe selected position at which the sensing component deactivates theshifting means. These sensing components may be a series of electricalcontacts arranged compactly and simply in association with the cylinder,and the shifting means may simply be a motor driven lead screw on whichthe cylinder is supported, or any other suitable operating device.

Other and further features and advantages of the present invention willbe apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a knitting machine according to thepreferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial vertical sectional view of the knitting machine ofFIG. 1 taken along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG.3 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2,illustrating the cylinder position sensing component's;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the yarn tensioning device of theknitting machine of FIG. 1 as viewed along line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the main yarn feed fingers of theknitting machine of FIG. 1 as viewed along line 55 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the gap closing mechanism of theknitting machine of FIG. 1 as viewed along line 6-6 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the main yarn cutting mechanism of theknitting machine of FIG. 1 as viewed along line 7-7 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the auxiliary yarn feed mechanism of theknitting machine of FIG. 1 as viewed along line 8-8 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the auxiliary yarn cutting mechanism ofthe knitting machine of FIG. 1 as viewed along line 9-9 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an auxiliary sinker cam of the knittingmachine of FIG. 1, as viewed along line 1010 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an auxiliary stitch cam of the knittingmachine of FIG. 1 as viewed along line 11-11 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a needle lowering cam of the knittingmachine of FIG. 1, as viewed along line 1212 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a dropper cam of the circular knittingmachine of FIG. 1, as viewed along line 13-13 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a switch cam of the knitting machine ofFIG. 1, as viewed along line 14-44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of another needle lowering cam of theknitting machine of FIG. 1, as viewed along line 15'15 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a dividing cam of the knitting machineof FIG. 1, as viewed along line 16-16 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a console housing the components of theremote control means of the circular knitting machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a section of the program tape that isread by the control means to control operation of the knitting machineof FIG. 1;

FIG. 19 is a schematic block diagram of the basic control sections ofthe remote control means of the knitting machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 20 is a schematic electrical wiring diagram for one of the solenoidcontrol circuits of the control means for actuating the operatingcomponents of the circular knitting machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 21 is a schematic electrical wiring diagram of the tape reader anddecoder sections of the remote control means of FIG. 19;

FIG. 22 is a schematicelectrical wiring diagram of the cylinderpositioning control section of the remote control means of FIG. 19;

FIG. 23 is a schematic electrical wiring diagram of the speed decoderand drive mechanism control sec tions of the remote control means ofFIG. 19; and

FIG. 24 is a sce hmatic electrical wiring diagram of the reader driveand counter section of the remote control means of FIG. 19.

For the purpose of providing a full disclosure of the present invention,one embodiment is herein illustrated and described in detailincorporated in a conventional model B-S, Scott & Williams circularknitting machine. However, it should be understood that the presentinvention could readily be embodied in various other types of circularknitting machines as it utilizes only the elements that perform theactual knitting function without modification of the elements themselvesand need not involve any change in the basic cooperation of the elementsin carrying out the knitting operation. Rather, the present inventiondeals with the means for controlling the cooperation of the elements.Thus, by the present invention it is possible to simplify the drivemechanism-s and completely eliminate the complex pattern drums, selectordrums and cumbersome connecting mechanical linkages, substitutingtherefor simple individual ope-rating components that are directlyactuated by control means, such as the remote electrical programresponsive means described hereiiiafter that inherently pro vide a highdegree of selectivity of the various knitting operations and permitcontrol of a multitude of knitting machines by a single, remotelylocated, control mechanism. .1

For clarity of discussion the embodiment illustrated will be consideredas having four basic aspects, namely: needle, sinker and yarn controlcomponents (FIGS. 1, 4-16, 19 and 20); cylinder drive components (FIGS.2, 19 and 23); cylinder positioning components (FIGS. 2, 3, 19 and 22);and remote, program responsive, control means (FIGS. 17-24), includingcounting means (FIG. 24), whieh remote control means control actuationof all of the various aforementioned components.

With regard to the needle, sinker and yarn control components, theactual movements of the needles and sinkers to form knit fabrics areconventional, and are not illustrated or described herein, but theoperating components that control the variation in-the cofunc-tioning ofthe knitting elements shall be described and are illustrated in FIGS. 1,416, and the electrical circuitry of the remote control means foractuating these operating components shall be described and isillustrated in FIGS. 19, 20 and 21.

In the particular knitting machine illustrated in FIG. 1, circular knitfabric, such as half-hose, is knit with two ends of main yarn 31 and asingle end of an auxiliary yarn 32, such as a rubber yarn, that aredrawn from supply packages 33.

With reference to FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, the two ends of main yarn 31 aretrained around a tension-ing wheel 34%, through eyelet 35 at the ends ofpivoted tensioning fingers 36, and through eyes 37 at the end of pivotedfeed fingers 38, from which the yarn passes to the needles and sinkersfor forming into loops of the knitted fabric.

The tensionin-g wheel 34 is conventional in construction as are thetensioning fingers 36, which function to take up the slack in the yarnduring reciprocal knitting in the usual manner. However, the control ofthe tensioning fingers 36 is modified according to the present inventionby the elimination of the pattern drum controls and connecting likagesand substituting therefore simple actuating means in the form of anelectrical solenoid C-5, which is energized during circular knitting toposition the fingers 36 downwardly in inoperative position, anddeenergized during reciprocal knitting to allow the usual spring 39 topivot the tensioning fingers 36 upwardly and maintain a resilent tensionof the yarn ends 31.

Similarly the feed fingers 38 are of conventional construction, but areactuated by individual electrical solenoids C-1, C-2, C-3 and C4 thatare normally energized during feeding of yarn by the particular fingerto position the fingers downwardly in yarn feeding position. When it isdesired that a yarn be heldou-t of knitting position, the solenoidcontrolling the particular feed finger 38 is de-energized, which allowsthe finger 38 to pivot upwardly due to the bias of the spring 41, whichcauses the yarn to be positioned above and out of engaging relation withthe needles.

When a feed finger 38 is raised to remove a yarn end from the knittingaction, the yarn extends from the feed finger 38 to the last needle inwhich it is knit and as the needle progresses in its circular path theyarn advances into the main cutting mechanism 42 illustrated in FIGS. 1and 7. This cutting mechanism 42 includes a guide bar 43 fixed immovablyto the dial plate 44 for initial guiding of the yarn, a movable holddownarm 45 pivotally mounted for movement down onto a positioned yarn tohold the yarn as it is cut by .a pivoted blade 46 acting against a fixedblade 47 secured to the dial plate 44. The holddown arm 45 is pivotedoutwardly of the fixed blade 47 and is biased thereagainst by a spring48 so that raising and lowering of the holddown arm 45 is controlled bypivoting pi the blade 46 about the pivot 49.. The pivoted blade 46 isoperably connected to a rocker arm 50 by connecting rod 51. The rockerarm 50 is actuated by solenoid F-4, which when energized rocks the arm50 to move the connecting rod 51 downwardly and thereby raise thepivoted blade 46 and associated holddown arm 45. When a yarn is inposition for cutting, the solenoid F-4 is de-energized, allowing thespring 52 to pivot the rocker arm 50 to raise the connecting rod 51 andthereby lower the pivoted blade 46 and holddown arm 45 to effect cuttingof the yarn between the blades 46 and 47. After cutting the solenoid F4is again energized to raise the pivoted blade 46 and holddown arm 45 sothat when the yarn is again lowered into knitting position by. the feedfinger 38, the cut end can readily slip out from under the guide bar 43as knitting progresses.

When knitting with some needles raised out of knitting position it maybe necessary to protect against closing of the latches as they pass theposition of feed fingers 38. This may conventionally be done by a gapclosing section 53 formed in the usual latch ring for shifting intoposition at the tips of the feed fingers 38 (see FIG. 6). In the presentinvention, this gap closing section 53 is shifted by a connecting rod 54actuated by an electrical solenoid E-S, which when energized shifts thegap closing section 53 circularly into operative position, and whende-energized allows the gap closing section 53 to be shifted by thespring 55 to its inoperative position.

The aforementioned auxiliary yarn 32 is fed to th needles through aguide 56 at one end of an auxiliary feed finger 57, as seen in FIGS. 1and 8. The auxiliary feed fi ger 57 s plvoted to move the auxiliary yarn32 into and ut of knitting position and has an intermediate position atwhich the yarn is laid into raised needles so that one or morerevolutions of auxiliary yarns can be captured in a single course ofknitted loops of the main yarn 31 as when making an elastic top inhalf-hose; The auxiliary feed finger 57 is pivoted to its raised,non-feeding,'position by energization of electrical solenoid E-l and ispositioned in its intermediate position by electrical solenoid D-5,which is spaced farther from the pivot 58 of the feed finger 57 than thesolenoid E-l andthereby effects lesser movement of the operating end ofthe finger 57. When both solenoids are de-energized the spring 59 biasesthe auxiliary feed finger 57 in yarn feeding position for knitting withthe auxiliary yarn 32.

When the auxiliary yarn 32 is raised out of feeding position by theauxiliary feed finger 57, it is cut by the auxiliary yarn cuttingmechanism 60, which is illustrated in FIG. 9. This mechanism comprisessimultaneously acting holddown and cutting blade arms 61 and 62,respectively, pivoted to the dial plate 44 and rocked by a connectingrod 63 extending from an operating rocker arm 64. The arms 60 and 61 areheld in a raised inoperative position by cnergization of electricsolenoid F-S that pivots the rocker arm 64 to move the connecting rod 63downwardly. Upon dc-energization of the solenoid 1 the spring 65 rocksthe rocker arm 64 in the opposite direction to raise the connecting rod63 and thereby pivot the holddown arm 61 and cutting blade arm 62downwardly with the holddown arm 61 holding the auxiliary yarn 32against the dial plate 44 and the cutting plate arm 62 cutting the yarnagainst a fixed blade 66 on the dial plate 44.

The knitting machine illustrated includes means for drawing loops ofincreased size when desired for any reason. These means include anauxiliary sinker cam 67 (FIG. that is movable inwardly to advance thesinkers for drawing on the high top surfaces thereof and an auxiliarystitch cam 70 (FIG. 11) for lowering the needles deeper during drawing.The auxiliary sinker cam 67 is pivoted on the sinker cap 68 for movementinto and out of operative position. The cam is moved into operativeposition by electrical solenoid D-3 and is moved to inoperative positionby the spring 69, which pulls the cam outwardly upon de-energization ofsolenoid D-3.

The auxiliary stitch cam 70 is mounted in a bracket 71 for slidingmovement radially into and out of operating position at the trailingedge of the main stitch cam 72. This auxiliary stitch cam 70 has aninclined camming surface 73 that extends downwardly from the end of themain stitch cam 72 so that when the auxiliary stitch cam 7i is inoperating position it will engage the needle butts 74 and move themdownwardly beyond the depth of draw caused by the main stitch cam 72.The auxiliary stitch cam 70 is actuated by an electrical spring biasedsolenoid D2, which when energized shifts the auxiliary stitch cam 70into operating position and when deenergized spring biases the cam to anouter or inoperative position.

After the stitches are drawn by action of the main stitch cam 72 andauxiliary stitch cam 70 or the main stitch cam 72 alone on the needlebutts 74, the butts 74 ride up on the surface of the end cam 75 toposition the needles for manipulation by subsequent operatingcomponents.

Following the end cam 75 is a needle lowering cam 76 that has adownwardly inclined camming surface 77 facing the end cam 75 forengagement of the needle butts 74 to lower the needles for jackselection for laying in or knitting with the auxiliary yarn 32. Thisneedle lowering cam 76 is pivotally mounted on the base plate 78 forpivoting between an operative and inoperative position. Pivoting of thecam is actuated by electrical solenoid D-l, which is spring loaded. Thecam is shifted to its inner operating position by energization ofsolenoid D-1 and is returned to its inoperative outer position by thespring loading of the solenoid when the solenoid is de-energized. Toavoid breakage of needle butts 74 as cams, such as the present needlelowering cam, are moved into operating position, half of the needleshave short butts and the other half have longbutts with the short buttsarranged over 180 of the needle cylinder and the long butts arrangedover the other 180 of the needle cylinder. With this arrangement of longand short butts the needle lowering cam 76 is first moved to itsoperating position when the short butts are adjacent the cam and theextended surface of the cam causes the cam to ride on the butts andremain inactive until the long butts reach the cam and engage thecamming surface 77, riding down thereon and allowing the cam to shiftfully to its operative position. When the short butts again reach thecam they will also engage the surface and be cammed downwardly.

The present knitting machine is constructed for both circular andreciprocal knitting, with reciprocal knitting being performed on theshort butt needles. At the be ginning of reciprocal knitting it isnecessary to raise the long butt needles out of knitting position. Thisis done by the switch cam 79 of FIG. 14. This switch cam '79 extendsinto the path of the long butts only and is shiftable from a downwardlyinclined position at which the long butts ride up on its top surface toinoperative positions, to an upwardly inclined position at which itengages the raised long butts and guides them along its lower surface toknitting positions at the end of reciprocal operation. The cam remainsin this raised position during circular knitting.

Pivoting of the switch cam 79 is accomplished by mounting the cam 79 onshaft 80, which is journaled in the bracket 81 extending from the baseplate 78. The shaft and cam are pivoted by spring-loaded electricsolenoid F-S, which when energized pivots the cam to one position andwhen de-energized pivots the cam by the spring loading to its otherposition.

During reciprocal knitting, conventional picks or lifters raise oneshort butt needle out of operation on each reciprocal stroke to effectnarrowing of the fabric. This is a conventional operation and normallyrequires no extraneous control, being inherently inoperative duringcircular knitting, and therefore needs no further disclosure herein.

Widening of the fabric during reciprocal knitting is accomplished with aconventional dropper cam 82, illustrated in FIG. 13. This dropper cam 82is mounted on a shaft 83, which in turn is pivoted in a slot 87 of acrossshaft 84 that is oscillatibly mounted. Thus the cam can move bothdownwardly and laterally. The dropper cam 82 is pivoted from a lowerinoperative position out of the path of needle butts to a raisedoperative position by action of spring loaded electrical solenoid E-4acting to oscillate the cross-shaft 84. The dropper cam acts to drop tworaised needles into knitting position at each stroke of reciprocation,functioning with the picks or lifters to produce a net addition of oneneedle to the knitting operation. The dropper cam 82 operates to engagethe butts of the first two raised inoperative needles in the recessedportion 85 as the butts of the operating needles pass under the cam.When the first engaged butt contacts the inner surface of the recessedportion 85, it causes a pivoting of the cam laterally downwardly along aguide cam (not shown) so that the two needles are lowered into knittingposition. As the lateral shifting continues the cam eventually moves outof the path of the engaged butts and moves back to its initial positionat which its top surface 86 contacts the other raised butts, which holdthe cam down sufficiently to avoid engagement of butts in the recessedportion 85. The opposite side of the cam operates in the same manner todrop two needles during the reverse stroke.

During circular knitting with both the main and auxiliary yarns, it isnormally necessary to pull the needles down after passing the auxiliaryyarn feed so as to position the auxiliary yarn in the needle hooks andalign the needles sinkers. As the sinkers and sinker cam areconventional and are not modified by the present invention, they are notillustrated herein.

Movement of the needle lowering cam 88 and spring arm 89 in and out ofoperating position is accomplished by the present invention withelectric solenoids F-Z and E3, which act through a bell crank 90 againsta lug 91 fixed to a shaft 92 on the inner end of which is attached thecam 88 and on the outer end is attached a pivoted arm 93 that extendsinto engagement with the spring arm 89. The needle lowering cam 88 ismoved from inoperative to operative position in two steps to avoiddamage to the needle butts by first energizing solenoid F-Z that has alesser stroke than solenoid E-3, so that the cam is positioned forengagement with the long butts but not the short butts. This movement iseffected when the short butts are passing the cam so that the cam willbe in proper position for engaging the long butts as they come around.While the long butts are being cammed, solenoid E-3 is energized toforce the cam further inwardly in position for engaging the short butts.When the solenoids are de-energized, the spring arm 89 biases the cam toinoperative position.

After the needles leave the needle lowering cam 88 they ride up on theend cam 94 into position for knitting manipulation. However, whenlaying-in a number of revolutions of auxiliary yarn without knitting, itis necessary to retain the needles below a determinable level to preventthe layed-in yarn from sliding off the latches. This is accomplished bya divider cam 95 (FIG. 16) that guides the needles to the underside ofthe subsequent cams. This divider cam 95 is mounted for movement intoand out of operating position in bracket 96 and is manipulated throughan operating lever 97 pivoted at 98. The opposite end of the lever 97has attached thereto the pistons from electric solenoids F-1 and E-2 atdifferent spacings from the pivot 98. When the solenoids are energizedthe divider cam 95 is drawn to its inoperative position. When thesolenoid E-2 is de-energized the divider cam 95 is positioned forengagement with the long butts only, and when both solenoids arede-energized the divider cam 95 is in operating position, due to springloading of the solenoids, for engaging both the short butts and the longbutts. The sequence of operation is the same as that indicated for theneedle lowering cam 88 above.

From the above it is apparent that the present invention providescontrol components for the needles, sinkers and yarn and a highlysimplified and compact arrange ment with the actuating solenoidsarranged efficiently at the locations where the actual operatingcomponents are located, thus providing a compact and simple knittingmachine and also permitting easy access for repairs and replacement, aswell as making repair and replacement easy due to the substantialreduction in operating parts.

Turning now to the cylinder drive components, reference is made first toFIG. 2, which shows the needle cylinder 99 driven by a small electricmotor 100. Rotation of the motor shaft 101 is transmitted into rotationof the cylinder 99 by a small bevel gear 102 on the end of the motorshaft 101 and mating with a large diameter bevel gear ring 103 securedto the base of the knitting cylinder 99. The drive motor 100 is mountedon the supporting platform 104 on which the cylinder 99 is supported,and which platform moves up and down to change the axial position of theneedle cylinder as will be described below. Thus the drive motor 100 isretained in proper relation for driving the cylinder at all times.

The drive motor 100 is operable at various speeds and can be reversed toeffect reciprocation. Control of the speed of rotation and reciprocaloperation is obtained through the speed decoder and drive mechanismcomponents of the remote control means illustrated diagrammatically inFIG. 19. The circuitry of the control is illustrated in FIG. 23 and willbe described in detail below.

The cylinder positioning components are illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 andthe control of these components through the remote control means areillustrated in FIGS. 19 and 22. The cylinder positioning componentscooperate to adjust the axial position of the knitting cylinder 99 tocontrol the depth of draw by the needles for conventional purposes. Thisshifting of the cylinder 99 is accomplished uniquely by the presentinvention through the operation of the electric positioning motor 105mounted on the knitting machine below the cylinder platform 104 anddriving a lead screw 106 extending vertically into threaded engagementin a nut 107 secured to the platform 104 so that rotation of the leadscrew 106 by the positioning motor 105 causes the nut 107 and attachedplatform 1.04 to move up or down. Rotation of the platform is preventedby a fixed rod 108 secured to the knitting machine and extending throughan opening in the platform 104 at a point spaced laterally from the leadscrew 106.

Control of the positioning motor 105 to adjust the position of thecylinder 99 is accomplished through the series of selector switches 109shown at the left of FIG. 2 and also in FIG. 3. The switches 109 aremounted on a bracket 110 on the movable platform 104 to move up and downwith the cylinder. Vertically aligned with the switches 109 are a seriesof switch operating rods 111. These rods 111 are adjustably secured inthe fixed platform 112 that supports the base plate 78 of the knittingmachine. These rods 111 are threaded so that they can be advanced orretracted through the nuts 113 fixed to the fixed platform 112 to raiseor lower their height in relation to the selector switches 109, and eachof the rods 111 is preferably positioned at a different vertical levelcorresponding to desired cylinder positions during knitting operation.

The selector switches 109 are connected to the remote control means forselection in response to the program as will be described in more detailbelow, and the remote control means control energization of thepositioning motor 105 with the circuit being so arranged that when thecylinder moves downwardly to a selected position at which the programselected selector switch 109 is closed the motor will be stopped and thecylinder held at that position, and similarly upward cylinder movementis stopped when a selected switch is opened. The cylinder position ischanged by a change in the selection of the switches 109 andenergization of the motor 105 to move upor down as desired.

From the above it is apparent that the present invention provides asimple, positive and compact means of positioning the cylinderadjustably for varying stitch size through automatic control means.

As all of the operating components described above are actuated orcontrolled electrically, they are readily adaptable to the remote,program-responsive control means now to be described. This electricalcontrol facilitates convenient location of the control means remotely ofthe knitting machine, requiring only electricalwiring for connection ofthe control means and operating components on the knitting machine. Thusall of the electrical control elements may be located in a console 114,such as illustrated in FIG. 17, and the console can be placed at anyconvenient location either near or far from the knitting machine. Forexample, the console could be located in a control room or other ofiicewhile the knitting machine is located in the knitting room. The consolecould even be located in a different building. The electrical connectionof the control means to the operating components also permits a singleconsole to control a plurality or multitude of knitting machines simplyby connecting the corresponding components of all machines to the samecontrol element of the control means.

Asillustrated in FIG. 19, the remote, program-responsive, control meansof the embodiment illustrated comprises a Tape Reader section, a TapeDecoder section and a plurality of control sections responsive to thesignal from the Tape Decoder. These control sections comprise a CylinderPositioning Decoder that is responsive to a signal from the Tape Decoderto interpret that signal and apply it to the Cylinder PositioningMechanism described above with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, for movingthe Knitting Cylinder 99 axially. Appropriate signals from the TapeDecoder provide pulses for actuation of the above described CamSolenoids that control the needle, sinker and yarn operating componentsdescribed above with reference to FIGS. 4 through 16. The Speed Decoderinterprets appropriate signals from the Tape Decoder for control of theDrive Mechanism that rotates and reciprocates the Knitting Cylinder.Also responsive to signals from the Tape Decoder is the Reader Drive andCounter section, which controls advance of the program tape stepwise inrelation to signals received from Position Switches that detect everyhalf revolution of the Knitting Cylinder. The Reader Drive and Countersection also operates in response to signals from the Tape Decoder todeactivate tape advance and activate counters that count a predeterminednumber of cylinder revolutions as pulsed by. the position Switches,during which counting period knitting is continued for thepre-determined number of courses with the operating components remainingin one position, following which counting period the tape is againadvanced stepwise in relation to knitting cylinder rotation.

Each of the above mentioned sections of the remote. program-responsive,control means of the present embodiment will now be described.

The Tape Reader section is illustrated at the left of FIG. 21. Upon asignal from the Reader Drive and Counter section the reader drive coil115 is energized as will be described further below, to advance the tapestepwise across the contact plate 116 for sensing by feeler fingers 117,which make contact with the contact plate 116 through holes punched inthe tape in accordance with a pre-determined program. A section of tape118 is illustrated in FIG. 18. This tape is an eight-hole tape, that is,it has eight hole positions that can be punched to provide thepre-determined program. The first three hole positions are utilized todesignate address groups and are read by feeler fingers 117a, 1171;, and117C. The other five holes in the tape 118 are aligned with feelerfingers 117d, 117e, 117f, 117g, and 117h to provide an action signalwithin the address group sensed by the first three feeler fingers.

Each of the feeler fingers 117 is electrically connected to acorresponding electrical relay, R-l through R-8, respectively, of theTape Decoder section. These relays are provided to protect the feelerfingers from current surges. The first three relays R-l, R-2 and R3 areconnected in a decoding matrix 119 in a binary system to provide sixaddress groups, A, B, C, D, E and F from the various combinations ofone-off positions of the relays in response to the tape reading. Theaddress group signal leads and the five action signal leads areconnected to the various control sections that operate in response to aparticular address group and action signal.

Address groups C, D, E, and F lead to the'Cam Solenoids section of thecontrol means for activation of the solenoids that actuate the operatingcomponents of the needle, sinker and yarn control element described indetail above. In the above description, the solenoids were given letterand number designations, which correspond to the address group andaction number of the signal fromthe control means that activates theparticular solenoid.

The circuitry for a typical solenoid is illustrated in FIG. 20. Thelower line on the left is the address group line, designated group C forillustration. The upper line at the left is the action number line,designated 3 for example. When group C and action 3 are energized, therelay 120 activates solenoid C-3, in this case lowering one of the mainyarn feed fingers 38. The diode 12.1 is provided-to prevent sneakcircuits.

Circuits identical to that described above in FIG. 20 are provided foroperating the other solenoids, all of which are pulse-type latchingrelays that remain in one position until a subsequent signal isreceived. Thus, one pulse would move thev solenoid to one position and asecond pulse would be necessary to move it back to the originalposition.

The Cylinder Positioning Decoder section of the control means isresponsive to signals B-1, B-2 and B5 from the Tape Decoder section. Asseen at the left of FIG. 22, group B line and action 1 line areconnected through relay 122, and group B line and action 2 line areconnected through relay 123. These relays are arranged in a binarydecoding matrix 124 that interprets the various combinations ofactivation and deactivation of the relays to energize one of four lines,each of which is connected to one of the four selector switches 109illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 for selection of the desired axial positionof the needle cylinder 99.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3 and 22, the knitting cylinder 99 is in itsuppermost position. To move the cylinder downwardly to a selectedposition, a pulse from group B line and action 5 line pulses relay 125at the upper right of FIG. 22 to connect the drive circuit 126 to theline 127 from the upper contacts of the selector switches 10). Thisenergizes the positioning motor 105 through the four contacts 128 ofrelay 125 for a rotation to cause downward movement of the cylinder onthe lead screw 106. The other coil of the positioning motor issimultaneously energized through lead line 129. Lead line 129 is thenrouted by the relay contacts 128 to rheostat 130 to control overshoot ofthe positioning motor 105 in the downward direction due to the inertiaof the cylinder in moving downwardly. When the selected cylinderposition is reached, the selected switch 109 will be moved to theopposite contact to open the circuit and de-energize the positioningmotor 105.

To raise the cylinder to a new position, relay 125 is pulsed by addressgroup B and action 5 to reverse the relay contacts 128, therebyreversing the input to the positioning motor 105 and at the same timecausing lead line 129 to bypass the rheostat 130. When the selectedselector switch 109 is contacted and moved to the opposite contact, thedrive circuit 126 will be de-energized and the cylinder will remain atthat selected position until changed by the program.

The Speed Decoder section is illustrated at the left in FIG. 23 and theDrive Mechanism section is illustrated at the right in FIG. 23. Thesesections function to control operation of the drive motor 100 to controlthe speed of rotation and reciprocation of the needle cylinder 99. Thesecontrols are actuated by group B actions 3 and 4.

Address group B line and action 3 line are connected through relay 131and address group B line and action 4 line are connected through relay132. These two relays actuate a binary decoding matrix that selectscontact with either one of three potentiometers P1, P-2, and P41, eachof which can be preset at a desired voltage to provide ditferentoperating speeds for the drive motor 100.

As an example, potentiometer P-1 may be set for high speed operation,potentiometer P-2 may be set for the operating speed duringreciprocation, and potentiometer P-3 may be set for low speed operation.The particular potentiometer selected by the matrix 133 is connected bylead line 134 to an amplifier 135 and thence to the drive motor 100,which is preferably a DC servo motor stabilized by a tachometer 136responsive to position switches S-l and These switches are located onthe knitting machine adjacent the knitting cylinder 99 and are spacedlHt)" apart. They are tripped by an element carried by the needlecylinder 99 so that each switch is tripped each revolution of thecylinder with the two switches providing a signal each half revolutionof the cylinder.

Also mounted for tripping by rotation of the knitting cylinder 99 is areversing switch 137 that is tripped during reciprocation when the shortbutts are symmetrically opposite the main yarn feed fingers 38 in eachdirection of reciprocation. This reversing switch 137 is movedalternately to and from a positive voltage contact and a negativevoltage contact to reverse the current to a reversing relay 138 and tothe decoding matrix 133, which actuates the reversing relay circuit atthe same time that the reciprocating speed potentiometer P-Z isselected. The reversing switch 137, through the reversing relay 138,operates a reversing matrix 139 in the circuit of the motor field 140 toeffect reciprocal operation of the knitting cylinder.

The Reader Drive and Counter section is illustrated in FIG. 24. Thissection receives pulses from the position switches S-1 and S-2 andtransmits these pulses to the reader drive coil 115 of FIG. 21 toadvance the program tape stepwise through the Tape Reader section toposition the holes in the tape for reading by the feeler fingers 117.Each pulse advances the tape one row of holes. During some knittingmachine operations it is desirable that the operating components beactuated only in response to one or the other of the position switches,as when a cam is to be advanced when short butts are passing, or for anyother desired reason. Toaccomplish this, the position switches S1 and S2are connected to respective relays 141 and 142. Relay 141 is controlledby address group A line and action 4 line, and relay 142 is controlledby address group A line and action line. When these relays are inactive,both position switches pulse the reader drive coil 115, butwhen eitherof the relays is actuated the associated position switch is deactivatedso that only the other switch pulses the reader drive coil.

Also incorporated in the Reader Drive and Counter section are countingmeans that deactivate the reader drive coil 114 during a predeterminednumber of revolutions of the needle cylinder 99. In the embodimentillustrated there are two counters 143 and 144, each of which isactivated at a different period of the knitting cycle, as for example,one could be activated during knitting of the leg portion of hosiery andthe other could be activated during the knitting of the foot portion.These counters are of conventional construction and operation, having aswitch 145 that is normally closed to connect the position switches withthe reader drive coil and which is opened by activation of a counterclutch 146 that holds the switch 145 open as the pulses from theposition switches are counted by a counter coil 147 that has been presetto count a selected number of pulses, after which it de-energizes thecounter clutch 146, permitting the switch 145 to return to closedposition and resume pulsing of the reader drive coil.

The counters are actuated by relays 148 and 149, rc.

spectively. These relays are not latching relays similar to thepreviously described relays, but return to their initial position assoon as the relay is de-cnergized. Relay 148 controlling counter 143 isenergized by address group A line and action 2 line, and relay 149controlling operation of counter 144 is actuated by address group A lineand action 3 line.

All of the relay logic circuitry of the entire control means describedabove may be enclosed in the aforementioned console 114 of FIG. 17,which has on its front panel three control dials 150 for setting thepotentiometers P-1, P2 and P-3 for control of the operating speeds, twocontrol dials 151 for setting the desired number of 12 pulses to becounted by the counters 143 and 144, and the bracket 152 on which thetape 118 is advanced and read. The panel also mounts eight manualswitches 153 that correspond to the eight hole positions of the tape formanually energizing the control means in relation to a selected addressgroup and action line pulse.

From the above it is apparent that the remote, programresponsivc,control means of the present invention provide a high degree ofselectivity in operation of the various components of the knittingmachine without requiring complex structures at the machine. it shouldbe understood that the present invention is not intended to be limitedto the specific details of the embodiment described as the individualelements and control of the elements could be varied considerably withinthe scope of the present invention. With particular reference to theelectrical elements of the control means, various changes in thecircuitry, components and operation could be made within thepurview ofthe present invention. Thus an electronic system of solid state diodesand transistors could be substituted for the relay logic described aboveto insure reliability and to reduce substantially the size of theconsole. Also, it should be understood that an optical tape reader orother type of tape reader could be substituted for the contact readerdescribed above. l-urther redundant circuits could be added as well asfeed back circuits to increase reliability and isolate malfunctions,particularly where a number of knitting machines are being controlledfrom a single remote control means. In a single control of a multitudeof knitting machines, it could also be possible to set the individualmachines for knitting different sizes of knitted articles by varying thecounting for the different machines.

The present invention has been described in detail above for purposes ofillustration only and is not intended to be limited by this descriptionor otherwise except as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A circular knitting machine incorporating circularly movable elementscooperating with other elements to form circular knit fabric, drivemeans for rotating said circularly movable elements, an'electricallycontrolled operating component associated with said drive means forselectively controlling operation of said drive means, a plurality ofother operating components arranged at locations about said knittingmachine for controlling the cooperation of said elements, individualelectrically controlled actuating means at each of said locationsassociated with the independent operating component thereat to operatesaid components independently, and program responsive electrical controlmeans connected to said actuating means for electrically controllingsaid actuating means selectively in response to a preselected program.

2. A circular knitting machine incorporating circularly movable elementscooperating with other elements to form circular knit fabric, respectiveremotely controlled means for controlling the cooperation of saidelements, drive means for rotating said circularly movable elements, oneof said respective remotely controlled means being associated with saiddrive means for. selectively controlling operation of said drive means,program responsive means for remotely controlling selectively saidrespective controlled means, and means electrically responsive torotation of said circularly movable elements for advancing a programbearing element for reading of the program by said program responsivemeans synchronous with the knitting element rotation.

3. A circular knitting machine according to claim 1 and characterizedfurther by counting means electrically responsive to rotation of saidcircularly movable elements and activated by said program responsivemeans in response to a specific program indication for counting apreselected number of knitting element rotations and deactivating saidprogram advancing means during said counting.

4. A circular knitting machine incorporating a circularly movablecylinder carrying knitting elements that cooperate with other knittingelements to form circular knit fabric, respective remotely controlledmeans for controlling the cooperation of said knitting elements, drivemeans for rotating said cylinder, one of said respective remotelycontrolled means being associated with said drive means for selectivelycontrolling operation of said drive means, program responsive means forremotely controlling selectively said respective remotely controlledmeans, and means electrically responsive to rotation of said cylinderfor stepwise advancing a program bearing element for reading of theprogram by said program responsive means in relation to cylinderrotation.

5. A circular knitting machine according to claim 4 and characterizedfurther by counting means electrically responsive to rotation of saidcylinder and activated by said program responsive means in response to aspecific program indication for counting a preselected number of saidcylinder rotations and deactivating said program advancing means duringsaid counting.

6. A circular knitting machine incorporating a circularly movablecylinder carrying knitting elements that cooperate with otherknitting'elements to form circular knit fabric, respective electricallycontrolled means for controlling the cooperation of said knittingelements, drive means for rotating said cylinder, one of saidelectrically controlled means being associated with said drive means forselectively controlling operation of said drive means, another of saidelectrically controlled means being means for shifting said cylinderaxially to change the depth to which yarn is drawn by said knittingelements, and program responsive means for electrically controllingselectively said respective controlled means.

7. A circular knitting machine incorporating a circularly movablecylinder carrying knitting elements that cooperate with other knittingelements to form circular knit fabric, independent, electricallycontrolled, operating components located about said machine andconfunctioning to control the operation of said knitting elements, eachoperating component being independently operable to permit any desiredoperating combination, cylinder drive means for rotating andreciprocating said cylinder, an electrically controlled operatingcomponent associatcd with said cylinder drive means independently ofother operating components for selectively controllingoperation of saiddrive means, cylinder shifting means for shifting said cylinder axiallyto change the depth to which yarn is drawn by said knitting elements, anelectrically controlled operating component associated with saidcylinder shifting means independent of other operating components forselectively controlling the operation of said cylinder shifting means,and an automatic control system having electrical, program responsive,means electrically connected to said independent operating componentsfor selectively operating said components in response to a preselectedprogram.

8. A circular knitting machine incorporating a circularly movablecylinder carrying knitting elements that cooperate with other knittingelements to form circular knit fabric, respective electricallycontrolled means for controlling the cooperation of said knittingelements, means for shifting said cylinder axially to change the depthto which yarn is drawn by said knitting elements, means for sensingvarious axial positions of said cylinder and selectively operable todeactivate said cylinder shifting means when said cylinder is sensed ata selected one of said various positions, one of said electricallycontrolled means controlling the operation of said sensing means toselect acylinder position at which said cylinder shifting means is to bedeactivated, and program responsive means for electrically controllingselectively said responsive controlled means.

9. A circular knitting machine incorporating a circularly movablecylinder carrying knitting elements that cooperate with other knittingelements to form circular knit fabric, means for shifting said cylinderaxially to change the depth to which yarn is drawn by said knittingelements, means for sensing various axial positions of said cylinder andselectively operable to deactivate said cylinder shifting means whensaid cylinder is sensed at a selected one of said various positions,means for controlling the operation of said sensing means to select acylinder position at which said cylinder shifting means is to bedeactivated.

10. A circular knitting machine incorporating a circularly movablecylinder carrying knitting elements that cooperate with other knittingelements to form circular knit fabric, means for shifting some of saidknitting elements to change the depth to which yarn is drawn by saidknitting elements, means for sensing various positions of said someelements and selectively operable to deactivate said shifting means whensaid some elements are sensed at a selected one of said variouspositions, means for controlling the operation of said sensing means toselect an element position at which said shifting means is to bedeactivated.

11. A circular knitting machine incorporating a circularly movablecylinder carrying knitting elements that cooperate with other knittingelements to form circular knit fabric, means for shifting said cylinderaxially to change the depth to which yarn is drawn by said knittingelements, a plurality of cylinder position sensing components arrangedat various cylinder levels to sense various positions of the cylinderand selectively operable to control said shifting means for shifting ofsaid cylinder 1,152,850 9/1915 Scott 66-55 X 2,073,554 3/1937 Elwell66-154 X 2,348,932 5/1944 Scrantom 66-9 2,685,786 8/1954 Stack 66-552,817,220 12/1957 Maher et al. 66-56 2,839,907 6/1958 Butler 66-552,860,500 11/1958 Crawford 6-154 2,960,853 1l/1960 Curtis 66-552,966,783 1/1961 McKibbin 66-56 3,017,757 1/1962 Moyer 66-138 X3,025,444 3/1962 Myska 318-162 3,029,619 4/1962 Lawson 66-55 3,035,4265/1962 Macqueen 66-154 3,054,281 9/1962 Lewis 66-155 3,059,843 10/1962Corbaz 66-154 3,069,881 12/1962 Warren 66-154 3,089,321 5/1963 Thurston66-50 3,089,322 5/1963 Bruce et al 66-154 3,117,598 1/1964 Burkh-alter139-319 DONALD W. PARKER, Primary Examiner.

RUSSELL C. MADER, Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3 232079 February 1 1966 Richard G Levine et a1 It is hereby certified thaterror appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction andthat. the said Letters Patent. should read as corrected below.

Column 4 line 10, for "likages" read linkages column 9, line 64 for"one-off" read on-off column 12 line 68 for the claim reference numeral"1" read 2 column 14 line 5, for "responsive" read respective Signed andsealed this 8th day of November 1966 (SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SW'IDER Attesting Officer EDWARD J. BRENNER Commissioner ofPatents

1. A CIRCULAR KNITTING COMPRISING COOPERATING CIRCULARLY MOVABLEELEMENTS COOPERATING WITH OTHER ELEMENTS TO FORM CIRCULAR KNIT FABRIC,DRIVE MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID CIRCULARLY MOVABLE ELEMENTS, ANELECTRICALLY CONTROLLED OPERATING COMPONENT ASSOCIATED WITH SAID DRIVEMEANS FOR SELECTIVELY CONTROLLING OPERATION OF SAID DRIVE MEANS, APLURALITY OF OTHER OPERATING COMPONENTS ARRANGED AT LOCATIONS ABOUT SAIDKNITTING MACHINE FOR CONTROLLING THE COOPERATION OF SAID ELEMENTS,INDIVIDUAL ELECTRICALLY CONTROLED ACTUATING MEANS AT EACH OF SAIDLOCATIONS AS-